Leaving Nightmares Finding Dreams
by Italia19
Summary: Torren is forced to leave his island and while meeting with his friends on a different island he comes across the Whitebeard Pirates and their second division commander. And now his friends are determined to make him join the crew. Not that he's complaining but do they really want him there? Do they really understand him and his past?Warning:contains OC, yaoi, violence,light Ace/OC
1. Leaving Nightmares

This is my first fanfiction posted here and this is just the very first scene as a type of teaser like chapter. Warning this story contains OCs so don't read if you don't like.

Full Story Summary Thing: With the fear of his villagers towards him growing to dangerous levels now that he's eaten a Devil Fruit and gained control over the weather Torren is forced to either leave or be emotionally and physically bullied by the village he only wants to protect. It doesn't help that they've nicknamed him 'Demon Spawn' and every other week try to burn him at stake. At least now he knows how to escape from seastone handcuffs. Of course though fate's just going to make him end up meeting a very large and powerful pirate crew thanks to his powers and slight depression issues.

* * *

A white albino haired boy only a few years younger than his older red haired sister is pushed struggling toward a small boat filled with all the supplies it can carry. His thrashing around proves useless as his foot catches on a rock jutting out of the ground and he falls face first into the space left for him on the boat.

"Bye Torren, don't forget to not come back cause if you do I won't be the one to stop the village from burning you at stake like last time," Tayla, the albino's older sister calls to him as she pushes the boat away from shore and away from the small island they've both been born and raised on.

Torren sighs to himself as he stares at the log pose his sister had left in the small boat. He knows how to navigate to the next island since he's headed there for certain things like medicine and when his little sister, Anaiee, got sick and the doctors on his island couldn't help her. Tayla had forced him to leave the island knowing if she didn't he'd stay and probably be starved and tortured by the villagers. While it's true he would have stayed and been hurt he still believes he would have been able to cope. Maybe one day some pirates would show up and be nice to him and save him from the villagers and steal him off as their navigator. Well, that can't happen anytime soon anymore since he's currently stuck in a small boat headed to the next island with seastone handcuffs around his wrists and nothing useful on the boat to use to break out of them. Torren tugs his black hood back, there's no one out here so it's pointless to hide his hair and eyes. Shifting through his supplies again Torren's search proves once again fruitless.


	2. Running from Friends

Special thanks to Forever-Dino and Ezaria for my first reviews! And thanks to all of my readers for reading this!

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An island larger than his home one lies before him as his small boat drifts to the docks and Torren tugs at his hood to make sure it's shading out his face completely. His hands make quick work of tying the boat to the docks and carrying his bag of supplies on his shoulder as he makes his way over to the building he's visited most on the island. The bell above the door of the small pharmacy chimes as a teenage boy wearing a black hoodie walks in and the girl at the counter instantly recognizes him.

"Hey Torren, what can I get you? You haven't run out of pills already have you?" Masaki greets the albino from behind the counter. Torren walks up to the counter, dropping his supplies next to him on the floor, and sits down at a stool by the counter. He shakes his head to her second question.

"I'm fine," Torren answers. "Hey, Masa, do you have some wire and a pocket knife or lock picking tools?" Masaki nods before searching behind the counter for the requested items.

"You're lucky. I got this off a guy trying to steal some stuff last week," Masaki states as she places the pocket knife and small metal lock picking tools on the counter before him. As she does this the door chimes once again, informing her of another customer. Torren ignores the person who walks up to the counter next to him and starts to question Masaki on medicine as he concentrates on using the available tools to unlock the annoying handcuffs around his wrists. His hands twist in uncomfortable positions and he's once again thankful for his flexible fingers and practice doing this. A light thud vibrates off the counter and chains rattle as the handcuffs finally release their hold on his wrists. Torren leans back on his stool slightly to look at his handiwork. It only took two of the lockpicking tools and the pocket knife this time and he managed to not break any of them.

"Are those seastone handcuffs?" a voice questions causing him to finally turn and face the man standing next to him. He has wavy black hair with an orange cowboy like hat, and is only wearing black shorts with no shirt to cover his tattoos.

"Why? You want them?" Torren teases taking the handcuffs off the table. He notices the man tense, guessing he's a Devil Fruit user but ignoring his actions Torren locks the handcuffs to his pants so the chain hangs down a little before his knee. He then scoops up the tools and places them in his hoodie pocket.

"You run into the Marines?" the man questions curious as to how someone was handcuffed in a place like this. There didn't seem to be something really dangerous going on in the town and there's really no Marines around here. Torren shakes his head no.

"Nope, my older sister put them on me before forcing me on a small boat to sail here. My villagers don't really like me, they call me 'Demon Spawn'," Torren explains, a small part in the back of his head questions why he's telling some random person he doesn't even know these things.

"Is that why Tayla and Anaiee aren't here?" Masaki questions worriedly, having been listening to his explanation.

"Yeah," Torren nods scratching the back of his head through his hood. "It was either run away or they try to like burn me at stake or something. And Tayla really didn't give me a choice."

"Oh, Torren, what are you going to do now?" Masaki questions wondering what's going to happen to her friend. Torren simply shrugs before pulling out a small stack of beli and placing it on the counter.

"I don't know, I guess I'll just travel around. Maybe I'll find some treasure... Maybe Tayla will let me come back home after a while," Torren thinks out loud while standing up. "Thanks for the help Masa. I'll see you later."

"Wait Torren, at least let me fill up your medication before you disappear," Masaki requests but Torren takes a step backwards.

"No, that's fine Masaki," Torren tries to reassure but freezes as Masa's expression changes from worried to angry.

"You're lying! You never call me Masaki unless you're lying! You're not taking your medication are you?" Masaki questions already knowing the answer.

"Leave me alone! I'd rather just suffer through it than take the pills!" Torren snaps back but seems scared of the murderous intent Masaki's eyes give off for not taking the medication and instantly runs away. Masaki sighs to herself watching as Torren uses his Devil Fruit powers to disappear knowing he won't be coming back for a while. However she still dutifully pulls out a bottle full of pills with Torren's name written on them.

* * *

If anyone's wondering after this Torren has the Logia Devil Fruit the Storm-Storm Fruit since I don't think I've ever mentioned the name. And to Ezaria, if his sister didn't put them on it would have been his villagers cause that's the only way they can hurt him.


	3. Depressing Revelations

"You said your name was Ace, right?" Masaki questions turning to her other customer and he nods in answer. "Could you do me a favor and give these to Torren? He really needs them no matter what he says. He should still be in town, he doesn't know his way around the rest of the island but he's smart enough to stay around here. The other people who live around here know who he is so you can just ask them for help. It's really important he gets his medication before he leaves."

"What's it for?" Ace questions curious as he takes the bottle from her filled with white pills that look easy enough to swallow.

"He has slight depression issues. It helps him not just go silent and broody and it also helps him with his nightmares and self-esteem issues. He's not treated the best back on his home island because of how he looks. That's why he wears his hoodie," Masaki explains to Ace. He nods in understanding before leaving the pharmacy to look for the teen. After about five minutes of walking down the streets not knowing where to look he approaches a woman with a fruit stand.

"Excuse me, did you see a boy in a black hoodie pass by here?" Ace questions the woman who instantly perks up at the question.

"You mean Torren? Yes, he just headed down that way," the woman answers before questioning, "Are you bringing him his medicine?"

"Yeah," Ace answers.

"Oh, I'm sorry Masaki stuck you with the job. Whenever she tries to give him his medicine she has to get someone to chase him down so she can watch her shop," the woman pauses looking at Ace. She then steps out from behind her stand and pulls Ace to the center of the street. "You seem like a nice man so here, I'll give you some advice. Torren hasn't taken his pills lately so just look for odd clouds." Ace follows her gaze as she stares a couple of streets away where a small bunch of gloomy storm clouds are hovering. "Whenever Torren goes into one of his fits he causes those clouds to pop up so you can just look for them. His Devil Fruit is affected by his emotions a lot."

"Thank you," Ace thanks the woman as she moves back to her stand.

"I should be thanking you. Torren really needs all the help he can get," she says waving him off to go continue his task. Ace rounds the corner only to find Torren standing in front of a small pond filled with water lilies. The storm clouds floating around his head have finally broken so they rain down on him and the pond.

"Hey Torren, here's your pills," Ace states holding the bottle out for Torren. Surprisingly Torren takes them without any argument and stashes it in his hoodie pocket. Ace sighs seeing him not let up on the rain and letting it soak in his hoodie, plus he's also getting wet from standing next to him. "Come on, let's get you dried before you get a cold." Ace tries to take Torren's arm and pull him to find a place to wash up but his hand passes right through the boy's arm as it turns to cloud almost instantly. Ace sighs not knowing why he's going through all this trouble for one kid. Activating his haki, Ace manages to grab the boy's arm but it causes Torren to jump in surprise and fright at being touched. However as Torren realizes Ace isn't trying to hurt him he calms down. After following Ace a short way down the road Torren figures out what he's trying to find and turns them away from one road and leads the way into a small hotel looking place. Standing behind the counter a black-haired girl turns to face the newest arrivals.

"Hey Torren," she calls lazily lifting one hand off the counter to wave at him. He only nods in answer. "Another fit then huh? I'll go get you some water and food to take with your pills. There's a free room on the first floor, third door if you two wanna get cleaned up." Ace thanks her as she makes her way to the kitchen to grab what she promised before they make their way up to the directed room. As they're doing this Ace notices how light Torren weighs as he pulls him along and it slightly worries him. He however waits to ask this question. Maybe the girl here knows why. Torren of course is too stubborn to take off his hoodie in front of Ace so he reluctantly leaves the boy in the shower while he goes to the other one, not completely trusting him near water while he's in this state but knowing he has to or he'll catch a cold from the coldness of the rain.


	4. Sudden Decisions

Thank you to anyone reading this. If anyone's read my profile they probably already know but I'll be trying to update during the weekend since I'm not on break anymore. Sorry if Ace is OOC but I'll try to do better, advice is always welcomed! Opinions and suggestions are always wanted and loved! And onto the story!

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Ace exits his bathroom in his now dry shorts to see the black haired girl sitting on the bed with a plate of food and water on a tray next to her. She watches him as he moves around but doesn't seem to want to bother to get up.

"I'm Aspen," the girl introduces herself first breaking the silence. "And you must be Ace," she doesn't bother to let him talk as she continues, "Masa told me about what's happening with Torren a little while ago, you know with the whole kicked out of his island thing."

"Why is Torren feel so light?" Ace questions concern lacing his voice.

"It's cause he is light," Aspen explains. "He doesn't get much food back at his hometown unless his sisters bring it to him. They've banned him from the markets before apparently. So when he comes here we try to fatten him up or at least give him some food to last a while. We've thought of keeping him here but he's always too stubborn to stay here and let us take care of him. I mean, once you see him for real you'll know why we love to spoil him." As she's saying this Torren walks out of the bathroom with a his pants on but his hoodie is missing. He hadn't bothered to put on a shirt underneath it today so he's not wearing a shirt either. Ace has to stop himself from staring at all the ribs he can see of his skinny body that's obviously trying to be fed but not getting enough regularly. Torren's drying his hair with a towel so it currently covers his face.

"Where's my hoodie?" Torren's voice comes from under the towel in a not really annoyed tone as this has happened before.

"Why don't you just look? You might find I'm wearing it quite well," Aspen teases as she pulls on the sleeve of the familiar hoodie she had snatched out of the bathroom while Torren was in the shower.

"Give it back," Torren demands in a not very mean tone but a tone that just says, 'you always do eventually so give it already.'

"If you want me to go shirtless in front of your new friend then sure," Aspen once again teases. Torren groans before sitting down where he's standing on the floor. Aspen gently nudges him with her foot. "Oh come on, just show him. He's a pirate for frick's sake. I doubt he'll find you scary." After a moment of Torren grumbling to himself a hand slowly comes up and pulls down the towel from his head. Ace stares slightly surprised but not at all scared or disgusted down at the boy with messy white hair and bright pink eyes.

"You're an albino, right?" Ace questions remembering the term he heard once when someone talked about unnatural white coloration. Torren only nods as he takes the tray off the bed and slowly starts to eat, letting his body get used to food once again. Aspen fishes around in his hoodie pocket before pulling out the new pill bottle and tossing two into the cup of water.

"I think he likes you," Aspen tells Ace even though Torren is right in front of them. Torren glances up at Aspen but then decides to just ignore her in favor of focusing on the food and medicine he has to take.

"Huh?" Ace questions confused. How could she tell if he likes him from just a few minutes of seeing them interact.

"Well he hasn't kicked you in the balls yet so that's a sign," Aspen explains. Ace winces, thinking of the possibility. "I swear he castrated a guy once, he was hitting on his little sister who's only like ten. I'm personally glad he did, I don't enjoy pedophiles in our town."

"Any other reason?" Ace questions curious as to find out more of Torren's slightly strange ways of showing dislike. Okay, he might have set the person on fire if anyone had hit on Luffy but still, Torren doesn't seem like the guy to continuously kick men he doesn't like where it hurts.

"Well he let you see him without his hood, he told you about his situation, didn't stop me from telling you about his situation, got out of his depression to bring you here, and he's not arguing right now," Aspen counts off her fingers. "Hey, I just thought of a great idea!" Torren and Ace both turn their attention back to Aspen after the short silence with Torren waiting for his medication to kick in. "You should bring Torren with you to your pirate crew!"

"What?" Torren questions confused. Why would she get this idea? Ace is also wondering why she would be so excited to give away her friend to pirates. Aspen nods to herself as if thinking it over.

"Yeah, you want to travel and need a way to do that and you don't seem to hate him," Aspen explains. Torren turns his eyes to some random piece of furniture and Aspen takes this as a 'okay, do whatever you want with me'. She turns to Ace and explains, "Torren'll be really good at pirating anyways. I mean he knows how to navigate, he's really strong if he's not in one of his depressions, he can control the weather, and he knows how to break out of seastone handcuffs." Ace scratches the back of his head thinking it over.

"Well I'd have to get pops to okay it," Ace says not seeing why not as long as Torren's okay with it.


	5. Threatened Secrets

Torren, Ace, and Aspen are walking out of the hotel later that day after Ace was hit with a narcolepsy fit and a big fuss was made over Aspen wanting to keep the apparently extremely comfortable black hoodie which was eventually given up when she remembered someone she dubbed 'jerkheads of the world' still living in the town. Luckily her older brother came by to take over for her so she could leave and hang out with Torren.

"Hey!" a voice shouts at the trio. Torren clenches his fists on his bag, recognizing the voices and choosing to ignore them while Aspen and Ace turn toward the source, Aspen to glare and Ace in curiosity. A boy in the front of a few others is shouting down the street at them. Receiving no reaction from Torren he tries again, "Hey gay freak!" Before either boy can react Aspen has a broom in hand and is dutifully beating the shit out of the boy and his friends.

"Don't use truths to hurt people! How would you like it if I called you a shittard with no future?" Aspen snaps slamming her broom down on the leader in more painful places. Once she's deemed the boys pummeled enough she joins her two friends and directs them toward the pub currently being visited by plenty of Whitebeard Pirates. "Hey, I'm sure you'll find a guy soon enough. Hey, maybe the right guy's standing next to you."

"Shut it," Torren snaps embarrassed as he pushes lightly on her head to get her to stop talking. As they enter the pub a hand reaches out and pulls Torren's hood down to show off his white hair. Torren simply glares at the retreating blond haired boy.

"You know the deal!" the boy calls behind him as he goes back to serving drinks. Torren seems tempted to pull his hood back on but resists as the three find bar seats after Aspen uncaringly pushes three drunk pirates off of them.

"Deal?" Ace questions curiously as he orders a beer.

"I won't wear my hood around Trans or in the bar if he won't try to hit on me," Torren explains. Three drinks are placed in front of them with varying amounts of alcohol, Torren's with none as his body can't handle much in his state.

"Hm? But I thought you were gay?" Ace questions confused.

"I am," Torren explains not used to giving out the information. Usually he only talks to the girls in the town about this since they found out from each other or his older sister. "But I don't like him. He's a user. I've had to kick him a few times for hitting on my older sister but he still won't stop bugging me."

"Besides, Torren's already got his eye on someone," Aspen teases, her cheeks starting to grow red with drunkenness. Torren still punches her in the arm lightly from embarrassment causing her to whine and rub it.

"And who would that be?" Trans questions coming up and refilling their drinks. Torren's eyes catch extra movement from his hands as he prepares Aspen's drink though and right as he's about to turn and hand it over to her awaiting hands a lightning bolt strikes the air in between them. Trans freezes, glancing over at Torren's glaring form. Next to him Ace pauses his drinking to watch.

"Don't you dare try to drug her," Torren growls leaning over the counter and grabbing Trans's collar. He nods quickly and dumps the alcohol and added substance down the drain. Torren releases him before placing enough beli on the counter to pay for the drinks they've received so far. He grabs both of his friends' hands and pulls them behind him and out of the bar. "Come on, I can get us booze some other place."

Later after dragging an already drunk Aspen back home to the hotel for her brother to take care of Torren sits on the docks next to Ace watching waves while Ace drinks the booze he found in all of the supplies his sister packed him.

"Why did you have booze if you can't drink it?" Ace questions only a slight tinge in his cheeks from his mostly sober state. Torren shrugs thinking back to his sister basically kidnapping him and tossing him into a surprisingly fully packed boat to drive him off the island.

"She probably found it in the house and decided she didn't want it," Torren shrugs not really thinking too hard about it. Besides, it's not like his sister drinks so he's not so sure as to why they'd have it. Maybe someone gave it as a gift to her. Torren decides to ask a question of his own, "Why'd you become a pirate?"

"I want to make myself known and not live in someone else's shadow," Ace answers seeming to leave a part out, such as who's shadow, but Torren ignores it. This time it's Ace's turn to question him. "Do your villagers call you a demon just cause of the way you look?" Torren pulls on his white locks, his hood being down as no one but them are around.

"Well, it's one thing," Torren explains. "It was that and when I ate the Devil Fruit everything got worse because I would go into depressions and cause all the plants on the islands to flood because I couldn't control the rain I caused. So yeah, albinism is not appreciated at the small little island before this one." Torren takes a little longer to think of a question. "What's your crew like?" Ace seems to think of a way to explain this around the alcohol clouding his mind and causing his cheeks to redden just a little more.

"Well I'm part of the Whitebeard pirates and it's a really big crew so we have commanders for our divisions. I'm second division commander. First division commander is this guy named Marco and fourth is Thatch. Whitebeard is our captain and sees us as his sons and daughters and we see him as our father," Ace explains. Torren nods to this explanation seeing his crew treats each other like one big family rather than subordinates. Ace then starts to explain his friends on the crew and what they're like, and Torren couldn't be happier to hear about all these different people. If only his village was so accepting.

* * *

No flames on the gays people! Okay? It's not wrong to love someone! ahem, and that is my pubic service announcement for the day.

Sorry for the late update but I totally forgot about this, I was reading two amazing fanfics about Sabo. Oh how I wish you would just come back already Sabo! Oh and sorry if the whole bar, drug thing got a little out of hand/people didn't really like it but seriously there's some good and some bad people out there. And then there's those people you just got to kick a few times to make them good.


	6. Cautious Trust

This is really just like a side chapter I made cause I wanted to show Torren meeting someone on Ace's crew. Plus it's fun to make fun of Marco. Oh, and special thanks to my newest follower and favoriter! I've almost got five and I love you all for supporting me and sending me in reviews!

* * *

Torren watches in amusement as a ship is having trouble escaping a water spout. He's sitting at the docks alone with Ace and Aspen both back at the hotel with hangovers from last night. The water spout's path changes so it looks like it's heading straight for the island but Torren knows better than to freak out.

"Aren't you gonna find cover?" a voice questions behind Torren. Torren doesn't bother pulling his hood back up since the person has already seen him and he's not freaking out. It's weird, he doesn't feel the need to wear his hood as often since he's been around Ace... It's probably just his meds, he'll have to ask Masaki if she changed them.

"Nothing will happen," Torren states simply swinging his legs over the edge of the dock. Okay maybe he shouldn't be this close to the water but nothing's happened so far. Hopefully this guy won't push him off.

"You sure about that?" the man questions standing next to Torren watching the waterspout.

Torren nods explaining, "It'll come closer and round the island but the air currents won't let it get close enough to cause any trouble. Shouldn't you know this? I thought pirates had navigators if they got this far into the Grand Line." The man ignores the question, instead watching as the water spout makes its closer but rounds the shore far enough so it doesn't pull any of the trees out but the wind kicks up plenty of sand. After silence Torren breaks it with a question, "Are you looking for Ace?"

"No, he should be fine. We're staying here for a couple more days," the man explains. Torren glances behind him to see the blond man and try to figure out which of his crew Ace described him as. His eyes are drawn to the blond hair that is in a distinct shape Ace had pointed out it would look like.

"You do look like a pineapple-head," Torren states amused, turning back to stare at the waves. He notices out of the corner of his eye as the newly revealed Marco tenses at the nickname. "Go blame Ace. He's hungover from last night. That's how he described you. Besides being a flaming turkey."


	7. Violent Introductions

Here's the newest chapter! It's slightly longer than my other chapters -partly to make up for the short one yesterday and partly cause more happens- and if anyone wants to see anyone interacting together i'd love suggestions and I'll try very hard not to get OOC if i do get suggestions for side chapters or something. yes i know, yesterday's side chapter could have been better but... you know lets just get to the story!

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"Come on Ace! Just give us a tour of your ship!" Aspen demands as she pushes Ace toward the Moby Dick. Torren follows them calmly, not bothering to help Ace escape the wrath of his friend who has set her sights on a goal. Eventually she manages to drag the pirate onto the deck where plenty of pirates stare as the black haired girl walks around followed by their commander and a hooded boy pointing to places or people and questioning what or who they are and what they're used for.

"That's Thatch, he's fourth division commander," Ace explains as Aspen points to his friend. "And that's Whitebeard, our captain. We call him pops." Torren tears his eyes away from watching the crew interact to stare up at the incredibly large man with no beard but a white mustache.

"Wow! Your captain's so big!" Aspen gushes, amazed. She rushes up to the man and Ace and Torren dutifully follow her to make sure she doesn't do anything fatal. "Hey, old man, why's your name Whitebeard if you don't have a beard?"

"Who are you, brat?" Whitebeard questions the girl, ignoring her question. He's about to question Ace as he notices him behind her but he's cut off as the girl answers.

"I'm Aspen, but I guess you can call me brat if I call you old man," Aspen shrugs. "Are you really the world's strongest man?"

"You've got guts questioning me on that," Whitebeard states. Where did this girl come from? Seriously, coming out of the blue and questioning his strength with all of the crew watching and ready to kick her off the ship.

"So you can stop a storm from destroying your ship?" Aspen question innocently. Ace stares at her trying to figure out what she's planning. She doesn't sound like that unless she's implying something. Whitebeard also stares at her in question. He's heard of people requesting him to beat people up in this way but never to fight nature that can't just pop up in a calculated way and be sure to be as strong as she wishes. Aspen, taking this as a 'try me', turns to Torren excitedly and he narrows his eyes under his hood. "Torren! Please?" she begs of him rushing up to him and clinging to the front of his hoodie. She stares through the shadows to where she knows his pink eyes are.

"No," Torren states shoving her head away gently but with enough force so she lets go of his hoodie.

"Aw, why not? Did you not take your meds?" Aspen questions.

"You gave them to me an hour ago," Torren reminds her not bothered by the large amount of people watching him. It's nothing he hasn't been through back in his village. Those stares were usually paired with insults or pain. This is much nicer.

"And who are you?" Whitebeard questions Torren. Is this girl implying the hooded boy can beat him? He doesn't really look like it but you can never know with people in the Grand Line, especially as he doesn't know how he looks.

"Torren," Torren states not willing to give much else away right now. If they really want to know anything else they can just ask Ace though he doubts they care enough to do such a thing. He grabs Aspen by the back of her shirt, careful not to pull on her hair, and tells her, "Lets go Aspen. You can harass the man a different time."

"No! We haven't gotten you to join the crew yet!" Aspen declares even though she's unable to pull out of his grip.

"You want to join the crew?" Thatch questions curious. He's approached the small group and has been watching the show.

"She wants me to," Torren corrects letting go of Aspen as she sits on the deck, silently stating 'I'm staying here until I get what I want'.

"And she just wants you to join a pirate crew?" Thatch questions suspicious of the claim. Who would send their friend to join a powerful pirate crew and not seemed worried in the slightest? Something seriously seems to be wrong about these two.

"Torren would have no problem on your crew!" Aspen declares ignoring the multiple people either ignoring her words or glaring at her for saying them. "He knows how to navigate, he can break out of seastone handcuffs, and he can kick most of your butts!" Deciding this to be enough of aggravating the crew as he sees them tense and glare at her Torren grabs Aspen's arm and pulls her back up and toward the docks.

"I think that's enough bragging for one visit," Torren reprimands her, ignoring the crew watching them but not the glaring or growling directed at Aspen.

"You think you're so tough, bitch?" one of the more arrogant pirates growls. Ace glances between Torren and Aspen and the pirate who draws his swords and starts to walk up to them. Aspen is glaring back at the pirate for calling her such a thing and Torren is letting off a dark aura. He has stopped in his tracks but isn't approaching the other, instead waiting for him to attack first. The pirate swings at Aspen but before it can get close to her head Torren's hand has grabbed it and his leg has collided painfully harsh with the man's lower regions. The man seems to want to scream in pain but no sound comes out as he falls to the deck unable to move, the pain's too much. Ace winces mentally thanking whoever's watching over him for not having to go through that. Aspen was right when she said he probably castrated a guy.

"Don't talk to her again," Torren growls down at the man not needing to remove his hood for the crew to know he's glaring. Torren walks back to the railing of the ship, ready to leave and waiting for Aspen to follow him. He turns to watch her just in time to see one of the man's friends ready another attack on Aspen's back. Coward. Ace is about to stop him when a bolt of lightning strikes from the clouds suddenly surrounding Aspen in a protective hold and attacks the man. Anyone holding a metal object instantly drops it as the lightning sends the man spasming in pain and it lashes out at anyone with a weapon drawn. Torren's fist leaves the railing, leaving behind now broken wood from the pressure he exerted on it, as Aspen finally makes it to his side.

"Great, now they don't like you," Aspen whines her mission failed. And here she thought he would do great on a pirate crew with Ace. Darn, now all her hopes are crushed. Maybe the next crew will have a pirate he'll have a crush on and she can force him into… probably not considering this is what Ace's crew is like. Well, one can dream…

"It's fine," Torren reassures Aspen knowing she's sad now. He hooks his hand around her waist and jumps off the ship, using his powers to float right before hitting the ground. "Let's go bug Masa. She'll make you feel better."

* * *

Yes Thatch lives! Okay well he might not live, I haven't decided but he hasn't died yet! Your thoughts are welcomed to curve my idea of what will happen. Plus I love writing scenes about stopping Teach and beating him and his men to a bloody mess when he tries to kill Thatch.


	8. Denied Feelings

"And then he was all like bang with his lightning and shocked the two guys and now they don't like him!" Aspen whines to Masa while she sits on a stool by the counter. "And all my dreams are crushed! And Torren will never see his love again!"

"Who said I was in love?" Torren questions but is ignored as Masa comforts the girl.

"It's alright Aspen," Masa assures her friend. "I'm sure Ace doesn't mind. I would like Torren even if he beat up those jerks." Torren groans at the girls talking like Ace loves him and pulls his hood up to cover his white hair. Yeah right, that would ever happen. Stupid pirates. The door chimes as it opens and three people walk in instantly noticing Torren and Aspen talking to Masa.

"There you guys are!" Ace exclaims finally having found the two. "We've been all around town looking for you guys!" The depressed look on Aspen's face is instantly replaced by a hopeful look.

"You were?" Aspen questions while Torren only grumbles and lays his head on the counter, not wanting to deal with what he knows Aspen is thinking. Ace nods in answer much to Aspen's and Masa's happiness. "So you don't hate Torren for beating up your crewmates?"

"What? I wouldn't hate Torren for something like that," Ace assures her.

"Those guys had it coming," Thatch states mentally replaying the events of what happened on the ship in his head. Seriously, that was the best show in a while. And he thought nothing interesting would happen on this island. Maybe it would be a good idea to stick around a little longer. If for nothing but for entertainment.

Aspen and Masa happily squeal and hug Ace with Aspen cheering, "Yay! You don't hate him!" Ace stares down at the girls in confusion at their extreme happiness and almost misses seeing Torren stand up from his stool and walk out of the building with his hand pulling violently on the front of his hood to keep anyone from revealing his face and hair, almost to the point it tears.

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And now you all probably hate me for leaving this weekend with a short chapter like this where I haven't given many clues as to what's gonna happen. However this is as long as I can make it without ruining any suspense I've managed to create(/imagine) so I'll see you all next weekend and will love any reviews sent even if you're flaming me for an update!


	9. Bloody Hope

Yay! This story now has more than 500 views! But I'm kinda going to be crushing my happy mood by telling you guys that I'll be updating not a frequently because all of this actually was more or less already written before I decided to post it and I have to catch up on writing and the decisions plot requires me to make. So I won't be updating every day during the weekend anymore, sadly.

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Ace, Marco, and Thatch follow Aspen and Masa as they look for Torren. They've searched everywhere in town but every time they found an odd cloud or spot his hoodie he would be gone. It's noon of the second day and Aspen and Masa have grown increasingly worried as Torren's never disappeared for this long before. Last night a wild storm had arrived though it didn't affect the village or the Moby Dick and both girls had worried what Torren could be doing. He's either getting out his emotions through the weather or he's actually in trouble but they were unable to do anything as the three pirates aiding their search had made sure they didn't travel toward the most violent part of the storm outside the village to look for Torren. This required them to keep the girls on the Moby Dick with them where they met many of the commanders and Whitebeard again but the happiness of finding out most of the crew is nice to them was blotted out by worry for their friend. Sure they don't know everything about him but Tayla had never informed them of Torren going off like this back at their island. What exactly does Torren do back there? A layer of guilt had washed over them as they realized they know little of Torren besides the main facts.

The group of five have finally agreed on starting to search the forest after completing a town search once again and finding no sign of Torren. As they approach the path leading to the forest they notice movement in the dark trees. Ace stops, holding up his arm to stop Aspen and Masa from walking past him and closer to the unknown person. He can't let anything happen to the girls. With Torren missing he's taken it as his job to protect them.

Ace's eyes widen in shock as he watches the person exit the forest and stares in shock at Torren's condition. His black hoodie is full of cuts and blood is dripping to the ground from his wounds. On one of his wrists a seastone handcuff dangles while blood drips from both of his wrists. The handcuffs were obviously tightened way too tight and cut into the skin. His white hair is dyed red from the blood covering it.

"Torren!" Masa and Aspen scream as they push past Ace and to their hurt friend. What happened to him? Who did he run into?

"Where were you?" Aspen questions as Masa stares at all the blood. Did someone really want to hurt Torren this much? How is he still standing? A terrible thought clouds Masa's mind and almost causes her to lose her lunch. Is he used to being hurt this much?

Torren glances at the two girls before continuing to walk. He doesn't want them to worry about him and see him like this. There's a reason they never saw him after getting into a fight. They'd never let him out of their sight if they knew what he did back at his island day in and day out. Fighting off pirates and his villagers are the things that fill his life and make him feel he's actually doing something. As long as he can protect someone he doesn't care what he has to go through. Now that he's forbidden from his island Aspen and Masaki are the two he'll protect with his life. He'll go through hell and back no matter what for them.

"Torren! Answer me! Where were you? And what were you doing?" Aspen demands of him as Torren walks past them. He's stopped at the corner of a building and picks up a nail and broken piece of wire from the ground before putting them both inside the lock on his handcuffs and starting to pick it.

"Marine base," Torren answers her finally. The handcuffs finally fall from his wrist and a small storm cloud moves from his hand to above his head and expands to raining down on him and washing away the blood from his hair and clothes. Aspen's and Masa's eyes widen in shock. That Marine base is corrupt and the only reason they're not affected by it is because the one in charge doesn't bother to send Marines through the forest or to sail to their village. If he did they'd be ruled over by a tyrant with no help from other Marines or anyone else. Torren explains as he sees their shock and silence, "A new captain will come here in a couple days to replace the old guy. You guys'll be safe from the Marines now."

"Idiot! You did all that just so we could be safe?!" Aspen snaps at him tears forming in her eyes. Why would Torren do that? They've been fine for a while. Sure they could be invaded any day but they've been lucky enough to not have been. Why would he go through just that extra precaution to keep their safety? And why would he be so willing to get hurt for them?

"Yep," Torren answers simply. He runs his fingers through his hair to check how much blood is left but winces as pain shoots through his cut up sides and probably broken ribs.

"Lets take you back to the ship to get you patched up, yoi," Marco offers as he notices Torren's pain and the blood still dripping off him. Those marines must have been well equipped to deal this much damage to a Logia user. Pretty soon he'll collapse from blood loss. Torren nods in thanks to the commander. Torren stumbles as he tries to walk toward the docks, his vision getting fuzzy. Torren shakes his head to try and clear his head but isn't able to walk as arms pick him up from behind and start to carry him to the boat. Torren glares at Ace's smiling face but doesn't snap at him to put him down. Instead he turns his head away from the pirate's chest and shifts to a more comfortable position. Hey, it'd be rude to decline the offer just to fall on his face when he tries to walk.


	10. Returning Nightmares

Sorry for the late update but it's here now! On to Torren and the story!

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Torren sighs in relief as he walks along the shore. He's been cooped up in the infirmary of the Moby Dick for days. The nurses wouldn't let him get up or move around and Masa and Aspen have been by his side for almost the entire time worrying over him. If they weren't around Ace would always appear to keep Torren company during the boring hours of recovery. Then the Marines came to thank him for defeating the one in charge. Torren, not having taken his medicine yet, flipped them off. Even if he did he probably would have flipped them off. If they wanted him gone so bad then they should have taken care of it. Not that he didn't find pleasure in beating up the jerk.

Overall Torren's been needing a break from all the attention and a walk on the beach is just fine. Of course no one wanted him to get up and move even after the nurses told him he could. Lets just say Torren won't be here too long. Masa and Aspen will definitely give him an earful once they find him.

"Hey Freak!" a harsh shout breaks Torren from his thoughts. Well there goes his nice day. Torren's hands clench at his sides as his steps pause. Lightning crackles dangerously through his arms but he forces himself to calm down. There's no reason to hurt them.

"Hey Freak," one of the boys calls as he walks up to Torren. There's three as usual and each of them wear their own smug grins as if taunting a wild animal from behind a glass wall. The one in front speaks with an arrogant tone that makes Torren to want to smash his face then his voice box, "You know I heard the most interesting things." Torren stays silent under his hood. The boys are obviously waiting for a reaction. He's not stupid. He's been taunted before and he's not so dumb as to not learn when people are going to hurt him. After a few moments of expectantly waiting for a sound from the albino and not gaining anything the boy finally reveals his secret, "Your village called up the marines. They gave them a lot of information on you. They called you a demon, that you're a danger to society. They said you would sink the island and drown anyone trying to escape. They said you should be burned at stake like the devil." Torren turns away from the boys. None of this is new, the villagers have said these things countless times. It won't make any difference, it's not like he'll go on a rampage for being called names. "You're a murderer." Torren stops his entire being freezing at the words. No. They did not just say that. Those asshole villagers did not just blame what happened to her on him again.

"You're sick!" another boy states pretend gagging as if to prove his point. The other two boys nod in agreement.

"Yeah, who kills their own mom?" the third boy questions glaring at Torren's shaded face that's turned back to face them.

"You don't deserve to be here. The marines should just lock up freaks like you," the first boy states in such a snobby, know it all tone Torren can't restrain himself as his fist collides violently with the boy's face. He's thrown back, away from the water, and hits a tree only to crumple to the ground unconscious with a broken bloody nose. The other two boys can only watch in shock as Torren's compassionless gaze turns to them.

Aspen and Masa search through the town for a certain lost albino. Okay, he's not lost but he is missing! Sure the nurses said he could move around but who told him he could just disappear? Stupid Devil Fruit powers. He probably used them to escape. The two split up as they make it to the shore with no sign of Torren yet.

"Hey Masa, you might want to see this," Aspen's voice calls out leading Masaki to the sandy shore of the beach in the direction Aspen took off in before.

Aspen's face is ghostly pale and a gasp informs her of Masa's arrival. Crimson liquid decorates the sand, just a few feet away from the tide that will wash it away tonight when the moon draws it farther up shore. Three almost unrecognizable bodies lie in a pile stained excessively with the shed blood.

"I'll go get help," Masa's strained voice whispers before she rushes to get away from the sight. A moment passes before Aspen finally nods in delayed understanding. Now once again alone with the sight the shocked girl starts to dry heave as partially digested food already litters the sand around her feet.


	11. Lost Masks

I am very sorry for the very late post but I've had trouble ending this one. Any suggestions for what should happen are welcome and greatly appreciated because I may know where I want this to go I would love some help with the details even if I can't promise if I'll put it in it may help inspire me!

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"What's wrong, pirate?" Trans questions as he serves Ace a drink. Ace glances down into his beer trying to see if there's anything extra in it. Trans sees this and snorts in amusement. "I didn't put anything in it."

"What about last time?" Ace challenges. Why should he believe this guy after all he's heard of him? Trans sighs running a hand through his blond hair.

"There wasn't a last time," Trans explains leaning against the counter.

"What about-" Ace starts but Trans waves his question off already knowing the accusation.

"I didn't drug Aspen's drink with anything bad. I wouldn't do that to her. It was sleeping pills. She comes here when she's bored and if she actually drinks I give it to her after a while before she has too many and can't pay it off. She doesn't have that much money, her brother supports the both of them. I asked Masaki about it anyway. She said it would be okay. She's the one that gives me the pills," Trans points out but doesn't seem bothered by the harsh accusation.

Wait… Trans was trying to help Aspen? Why didn't Aspen say anything? Is Torren's view of him right? Or is this guy more than the user, bi, annoying guy Torren described him as? "Why didn't you tell him then?" Ace finally questions after a moment of taking everything in.

"One, he would never believe me. Two, I didn't want him to know," Trans lists off. Ace, too confused to question, only stares at Trans and he continues, "I'm not actually that bad, believe it or not. Sure I flirt and I'm bi but I don't use people… and I never hit on his sister. He just thought I did."

"Then why does he think so badly of you?"

"The worse he thinks of me the more I annoy him and the more I annoy him the more he'll want to leave the island. Now that he can't go home the only thing he can do is leave with you or leave without you and I'm pretty sure he wants to join you, though he won't admit it yet."

The doors to the bar suddenly fly open and slam against the wall. The surprise gains the attention of most of the occupants and they look up to see a small group of about three marines entering the bar. Quite a few of the pirates in the bar seem to be unnerved by the sudden arrival of the men and start to get up from their seats.

"Has anyone seen this man?" the first marine questions as the second one holds up a bounty poster. It's newly printed and the picture isn't very good as most of the person's face is shaded out by a hood. Now it's obvious some of the pirates are escaping not wanting to take the chance of being arrested by the marines.

"Hey assholes! Get out of my bar!" Trans demands seeing the pirates leaving. There's no way he'll be losing customers just because these marines don't want to wait for the newspapers to send out the bounty poster.

"Excuse me?" one of the marines questions not having expected the civilian to blow up at him, a marine.

"Go back to your stinking base and put the flyer in the newspapers. You can't just come out here and drive out away all my customers as you please because you're looking for another random criminal," Trans snaps. One marine walks up to the bar, grabs the collar of his shirt tightly and pulls him until he's leaning over the bar. Trans glares right back at the marine, not intimidated at all by the threat. The marine can make all the threats he wants. It doesn't mean he'll follow through with them and if he does… well Trans isn't so stupid as to open up a bar welcoming pirates without knowing how to protect himself and the place. "Come at me, pretty boy."


End file.
